Geography - Economics Lessons

Make Way for Ducklings

MCPS Status of Book as of 4/4/96:
Approved as a Reading/Language Arts Core Book for Grade 1

Title: Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey (The Viking Press, New York, 1941)

Lesson Developed by Patricia King Robeson

Literature Annotation: Mr. & Mrs. Mallard are looking for a place to live. Every time Mr. Mallard finds a place, Mrs. Mallard says it is not a good place to raise a family. They finally decide on a place in Boston along the Charles River. Mrs. Mallard has eight ducklings and decides to leave the Charles River site and settle in the Boston Commons. The trip from the river to the Commons becomes quite a problem for Michael, the policeman, who oversees the adventure.

Grade Level: 1-3

Duration: 2 class periods

Economic Concepts: Scarcity, Production, Interdependence

Geography Themes: Location, Place, Movement

MSPAP Outcomes and Indicators:

Economic Outcome: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers in American society.

Indicators:

• Describe the relationship between economic wants and needs.
• Identify economic resources located within a community.

Geography Outcome: Students will demonstrate an understanding of geographic concepts and processes as needed to examine the role of culture, technology, and the environment in the location and distribution of human activities.

Indicators:

• Locate features of the school and community by interpreting and constructing maps using simple grid systems, cardinal directions, relative distances and sizes, and symbols explained in a legend (key).
• Explain the relationship between the physical setting of a community and its ability to satisfy the wants and needs of its people.
• Describe how transportation and communication networks link communities.

Objectives: Students will be able to:

• Describe how the Mallard family used natural resources to meet their needs and wants.
• Explain how the Mallard family was dependent on people in Boston.
• Use cardinal directions to show movement from one place to another.
• Construct a map using cardinal directions.
• Explain how the physical setting of the community helped the ducks satisfy their wants and needs.
• Identify human, capital and natural resources.
• Describe how a community is dependent on services.

Vocabulary: pond, bank, hill, river, island, natural resources, capital resources, human resources, goods, services

Materials:

• Book: Make Way for Ducklings
• U.S. Map
• Old magazines
• Transparencies: How Communities Grow;
  • Location;
  • Place;
  • Relationships; Humans and Environments; and
  • Movement
• Four 8_ x 11 sheets of paper for each student
• Flash cards for vocabulary words
• Four cards, each labeled with one of the cardinal directions
• 8 x 11 cards or sheets of paper, each with a picture of a typical physical feature of a U.S. city (Enlarging individual features from the Make Way for Ducklings map works very well.)

Teacher Background: knowledge of how communities develop; the services provided by communities; and concepts: natural, capital and human resources.

Lesson Development:

Review/Motivation:

1. Assist a student in locating Maryland and Baltimore on a U.S. map. Explain to the students that the story which is going to be read takes place in another city and time. Have a student locate Massachusetts and Boston on a U.S. map. Explain to the students that this story takes place about 50 years ago in Boston.

2. Explain to the students that the story contains several geographic terms. Write the words on the board or flash cards and have each student work with a partner to define the words. Discuss the definitions with the students:

   pond

   a body of water, smaller than a lake

   bank

   the sloping land bordering a stream or river

   hill

   a small area of land that is higher than the land around it

   river

   a large moving body of fresh water that starts at a source in higher land. The river moves from higher to lower land, as it carries the water to its mouth, where it ends. The mouth is at a water body such as a bay, lake, gulf, ocean, or sea.

   island

   land that is surrounded by water and is smaller than a continent

3. Define economic terms and give examples using the classroom and school:

   resources

   things used to produce goods and services

   natural resources

   those resources (gifts of nature) found in or on the earth which can be used to produce goods and services

   capital resources

   goods made by people and used to produce other goods and services

   human resources

   people doing mental or physical work to produce goods and services

   services

   activities or acts that people do for others

Webbing Activity:

On the board, help the students create a web, which identifies the physical setting and economic characteristics of Boston. (Tall buildings, park or public gardens, trees, streets, bridge, stores, houses, restaurants, taxis, workers, services, etc.)

Story Discussion:

Ask the following questions:

1. What information from the story helped you know it took place over several months? (In the beginning of the story, trees had no leaves on them; and by the end of the story, there were leaves on the trees.)

2. How do you know the story took place many years ago? (Looking at the cars, people's clothing, baby carriage.)

3. How did the Mallard family use the natural resources to meet their needs and wants? (Fished for their breakfast in the mud at the bottom of the pond, ate peanuts which people threw to them, swam in the river, used the bushes near the river to build their nest.)

4. How did people use transportation in the city? (Children rode bicycles to go places; people enjoyed pleasure rides in the swan boats on the pond; boats on the river carried people and goods from one place to another; people walked places and rode in cars.)

5. What two reasons did Mrs. Mallard give for choosing the public gardens as a home for her family? (The public gardens were a safe place and many resources were easily available: water, food and friendly people who cared about and helped them.)

6. What jobs did you see pictured in this story? (Policeman, man who swept the streets, driver of the swan boat.)

7. Think about your community. Besides the police, what other services and/or service workers does your community have? (Mail service, fire service, libraries, schools, trash service, doctors, hospitals, dentists, teachers, streetlights, etc.)

8. How did the Mallard family rely on the people of the community to help them? (Michael, the policeman, protected them from traffic; and the people in the public gardens fed them and looked out for them.)

9. How might the ducks interfere with movements of the people? (The ducks were not used to people, bikes and cars so they did not stop to look or listen when they crossed the streets. They could have caused many accidents because cars were trying to avoid hitting them. They also caused traffic jams because when they crossed the street, it took a long time.)

Transparency Activity:

1. Ask students how they think people begin to build a community. Place the transparency of How Communities Grow - Location on the overhead and explain that soon after the land is cleared, streets and roads are built.

2. Place the How Communities Grow - Place transparency on top of the "location" transparency. Explain that, whenever possible, builders leave some natural features undisturbed. Ask the students to identify the natural features they see on the map. (pond, river, trees, rocks) Ask them to identify the human-made features they see on the map. (bridge, bench)

3. Ask the students what they think happens next. Lay the How Communities Grow - Relationships: Humans and Environments transparency on top of the other two and discuss the location of the buildings in the community and services which are shown.

4. Ask the students what is missing from the map. (Align the How Communities Grow - Movement transparency on top of the other three and discuss it.)

Mapping Activity:

Introduce cardinal directions:

• explaining the four cardinal directions
• writing the words north, south, east and west on cards
• placing the cards correctly in the classroom
• having the students stand and practice facing in the cardinal directions

Cardinal Directions Activity:

1. Instruct students to move to the hallway, gym or playground area.

2. Give several students cards containing pictures of buildings, some trees, a public garden, a bridge, etc.

3. You may wish to mark off an area on the floor or ground with yarn and inform the students that the yarn represents the city limits.

4. Place students with the cards throughout the city area.

5. Give cardinal direction cards to four students and have them place the directions in the correct locations.

6. Select one student to be Mrs. Mallard and instruct her to move about the city using the cardinal directions which you will give to her. Example: Take two steps east, four steps north, and one step west.

7. Select other students to do the same, but this time have them move from one physical feature (park) to another feature (store or the river) using cardinal directions.

8. Select a student to verbally give cardinal directions to another student and have that student move from one place to another within the city following those directions.

Conclusion/Closure:

Make a Map Activity:

1. Give each student one sheet of 8_" x 11" paper and tell them to write the four cardinal directions on their paper following your instructions. Write the word "north" at the top of your paper, "west" on the left edge, "east" on the right edge and "south" on the bottom edge.

2. Instruct the students to listen carefully and follow these directions:
   • Draw a river from the north side of the paper to the south side of the paper.
   • Draw a tree on the east side of the river.
   • Draw a house on the west side of the river.

3. Direct the students to add the elements necessary to make the drawing a map. (Title, author, scale, compass rose, key, border)

Resources Activity:

Give each student or pair of students two sheets of construction paper and old magazines. Instruct them to write "human resources" on one sheet of paper and "capital resources" on the other. Instruct them to look through the magazines to find pictures of people working and pictures of tools people need to do their jobs. Direct them to cut out the pictures and paste each of them on the correct sheet. Allow time for them to share their pages

Thoughtful Application:

1. Give each student or pair of students a sheet of paper with instructions to draw a picture of their community showing community services they receive.

2. (Be sure you have cardinal directions labeled in your classroom.) Have students take turns giving each other cardinal directions to move from one place to another within the classroom. (Example: Go from your desk to the chalkboard by taking two steps east, four steps north and five steps west.)

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Last updated on April 2, 1997
Maintained by John L. Day

<jday@umd5.umd.edu>